Mister and Lady: Christmas Day Tripping Around the Metroplex

Good Morning!!

Mister and I are out of the house for the day. As we leave the house, the radio is talking about all the fog in the city and we haven't seen any at home. In fact, the sun is shining. However, as we near downtown, the buildings are engulfed in clouds and it is rather thick all around us. No sun.

Arriving at the zoo ---- the sun is out again (so odd) and we are ready for a walk and hopeful for some animal viewing today as our last adventure did not really net much of the latter. The hippos are out and lazing in the pool. We think there is only one but soon discover that mom is over the top of the baby (which has grown to about 1200 pounds). Can you see them both? Do you also spot the okapi butt in the background?

How about a face?

They moved an bit and perhaps this is better?

We're going walkin'. Yep, it's time to stretch the legs a bit. Along the Gorilla Trail, the cranes are so much closer than normal. In the sunlight --- how fun.

Oh, they are both there.

Just a bit further down the trail the Klipspringer and the Rock Hyrax pairs are taking in some sun and posting beautifully for us. This simple act causes us to stand and watch for quite some time.

Onto the gorillas and the bachelors are putting on a show as well today. My camera misses all the chest pumping and racing after each other, but there is some definite posturing and dominating behavior being exhibited.

A little video did happen -

Over on the family side, it's much calmer. Most are out of sight and one is quietly enjoying a snack in the sunshine.

Exiting the Gorilla Trail brings us to the savanna and I'm hoping for a shot of the lion cubs. It's been awhile since we've seen then and I'm sure they've grown like crazy. Into the Serengeti Grill we go and right by the large windows sits the entire pride.

Up on the rock are the cubs and, dang, they are so cute.

We have followed these lions for such a long time and it's just a joy to watch. Bahati is the mother of the cubs and we remember her birth to Lina. Lina's sister, Jasiri, is always in the picture and has been a great aunt to Bahati. The cubs, Izwi, Ilola, and Tadala, along with dad, Kijani make up the rest of the pride. As we watch, Lina comes over to care for her daughter, Bahati, with a bath. It just makes me giggle as each time Lina licks Bahati, Bahti's tongue comes out too. Why?

Something has caught the cubs attention.

Dad, Kinjani, could care less.

But mom, Bahati, moves a bit closer to see what is up.

Little Izwi reminds me so much of the Lion King scenes, which then takes me back to when the new Disney Lion King, which used Bahati as the model for Simba. (Here is a LINK telling all about that time and I'm sure I've shared it before, but one never knows.)

Onto the Savanna - our first glance shows that ALL of the animals are out today. We know that the nice days are about to come to an end and I'm sure the zoo is giving everyone a chance to move around a bit. We have giraffes, zebras, ostrich, impala (or perhaps they are the kudu today - a little far away), guniea fowl, and elephants (which I didn't photograph). Very fun.

From the zoo, Mister asked me about a Christmas display I had mentioned in Plano. It's near the Legacy Shops and as we gather directional information, a quick park nets us a small adventure on it's own. Baccus Cemetery - which was originally known as Cook Cemetery. Henry Cook founded the cemetery on his property to bury his son, Daniel, who died January 13, 1847. This is the earliest known marked burial in Plano. Henry Cook (1775-1862) settle the area in 1845 as a Peters Colonist as part of a (Republic of Texas) land grant given to investors led by William S. Peters. His house, which was situated near the present cemetery, served as a landmark on the Shawnee Trail. The Shawnee Trail was one of the earliest of the great cattle trails and a major route for settlers entering Texas. The trail extended from south of Austin; north through Waco, Dallas, and the Plano area; across the Red River into what is now Oklahoma.

Henry Cook, several of his family members, and many descendants are buried in the cemetery he founded. It was renamed Baccus Cemetery in 1915 in honor of Henry Cook's daughter, Rachel Baccus, who had aquired the land and donated the cemetery to Cook's heirs in 1878.

It is totally surrounded by wrought iron fencing and sits smack dab in the middle of a very busy section of the city. So interesting.

Just outside the gates are several sculpture locations. The first is of these beautiful longhorn cattle. The Texas Longhorn is a sturdy, hybrid resulting from a random mixing of Spanish retinto stock and English cattle brought to Texas in the 1820s and 1830s by Anglo-American frontiersmen. Longhorns, with their long legs, hard hoofs, and little need for water, ability to swim rivers and survive the weather extremes were ideal trail cattle. During the first half of the 1800s, Texas longhorns were trailed to markets in Missouri and beyond. Through the 1880s contractors drove five to ten million cattle out of Texas; reviving the state's economy devastated by the Civil War.

The next sculpture is called "Black Cutter." The Black Cutter symbolizes black cowboys who have been part of Texas history since the early nineteenth century. Working as an outrider, it is his job to keep the cattle together and moving as a herd. His leather chaps show the marks of many mesquite thorns as they serve to protect his legs from brush along the trail. Some black cowboys eventually became ranch foremen and mangers. Many were hired as federal peace officers in the Indian Territory while others ultimately owned their own farms and ranches.

The final sculpture is entitled "Vaquero." The Vaquero or Cowboy served the cattle industry of Texas and contributed to the mythical spirit of the West. Between 1821 and the end of the trail-driving era, Mexican stock handling techniques and horsemanship represented great influence on the cattle industry. Many Vaqueros contracted with Texas ranchers, while others worked for Mexican operators to move cattle north to market.

And, with that, our history lesson for today ends and we have located the original destination. In the Legacy Shops, near Apricot Lane and ella bleu, is a wonderful gingerbread village. A stop to play comes next. We started at the Toy Factory and then moved onto the Winter Wonderland where even Mister couldn't help but play a wee bit. Fun --- yes, very over-hyped and non-interactive for the msot part, but fun. There are days when we just need to smile a bit, especially during this time of year.

Heart Mountain is next and a perfect photo op, which we pass on.

With Gingy's Sweets coming up next. I am grinning ear to ear as the cuteness overload going on here.

Do I need to mail a letter to Santa? I'd love to but he came rather early in the month to our home. We are not asking for anything additional this year.

Is the day complete? Well, no. The Galleria Mall has the largest indoor Christmas tree and as it sits smack dab in the middle of an ice skating rink (yes, in the mall), it seems like a nice stop as well. When we arrive the Zambini is out cleaning the ice around the tree so we stop to take pictures from several of the many levels in the mall.

At last, the skaters are released and away they go. Just watching is so much fun. I've never ice skated in my life. Pretty hard to believe as I'm from Montana, but it's true. I'd love to give it a try but everything I've read says it is hard on ankles and mine have been shot for years.

As we prepare to leave the mall, Santa is spotted and I just have to take a picture of the "social distanced" visit with Santa. Not sure this little is really into it at all and I can't say as I blame her. That's as close as they can get to Santa. Big window in between.